Scientists Went Looking for Shackleton’s Endurance. They found a Hidden Fish City in Perfect Formation Instead

While tracing Shackleton’s Endurance route, researchers in Antarctica’s Western Weddell Sea found more than 1,000 circular fish nests forming a striking geometric neighborhood. Built by yellowfin notie rockcod on seabed once buried beneath a 200-meter ice shelf, the nests were spotless and arranged solo or in sweeping clusters. The layout suggests defense by numbers—central nests safer than those at the edges—while isolated sites likely belonged to stronger fish. Surveying with ROVs and AUVs after Larsen C’s A68 calved, the team identified a vulnerable, unusual habitat, bolstering calls to protect the Weddell Sea.